Game-By-Game Reasons To Watch: November

We previously gave you reasons to watch every Caps game in October. Here's why you should watch the games on the slate for November:

Nov. 1 @ Buffalo: Even though Danny Briere is long gone, Sabres fans still boo Alex Ovechkin. Maybe it's because they hold a grudge. Or maybe it's because AO lit the Sabres up for five goals in four games last year.

Nov. 4 @ Ottawa: On Election Day night, the Caps find themselves in another nation's capital. What's up with that? The Caps outscored the Sens 22-12 in last year's four-game sweep, which included Ovechkin's first career four-goal game:

Nov. 6 vs. Carolina: Alex Semin has scored more goals against the 'Canes (13) than he has against any other team in the League, so he'll be counted on to provide some offense against a Carolina team that will be out for revenge - they lost the Southeast Division in the Caps' last game of the season, but had they beaten the boys from D.C. in either of the teams' two head-to-head meetings in the regular season's final two weeks, the crown would have been theirs.

Nov. 8 vs. N.Y. Rangers: Two of Mike Green's four game-winning goals last season came against the Rangers, and both came in overtime (here's the first one). From then on, he was Mike "Game Over" Green.

Nov. 10 vs. Tampa Bay: We'll all watch this one because we all still love this guy (even if we want to see him get lit up like a Christmas tree on this night):

Nov. 12 @ Carolina: There are a million different "what if" scenarios from last season, of course, but if everything else was the same, had a 'Cane - and not Viktor Kozlov - scored in the shootout in the Caps' last trip to Raleigh, Carolina would have won the Division. You can bet the 'Canes will value every single point in the standings this year.

Nov. 14/15 vs./@ New Jersey: The second game of this home-and-home kicks off the most brutal road-trip of the season, a five-gamer that includes a three-game swing in California and creates the potential for the Caps to face Martin Brodeur (twice), J.-S. Giguere, Evgeni Nabokov and Niklas Backstrom in a six-game stretch. Yikes.

Nov. 19 @ Anaheim: Sergei Fedorov played 85 games for the Ducks (31 goals, 35 assists) and Alex Ovechkin returns to the site of his first hat trick.

Nov. 20 @ Los Angeles: In the next five days, the Caps will visit the only three teams against whom Ovechkin hasn't scored. Don't think that he doesn't (or at least won't) know that.

Nov. 22 @ San Jose: Most of Russia's biggest heroes froim Halifax (Ovechkin, Semin, Fedorov and Evgeni Nabokov) will reunite on the same sheet of ice, and we'll see who has the book on whom.

Nov. 24 @ Minnesota: The Caps last faced the Wild mere hours after the trade deadline last February, and the team responded to GMGM's moves with a dominating 4-1 win led by Brooks Laich's four-point night:

Nov. 26 vs. Atlanta: Jose Theodore owns the Thrash to the tune of 11-4-0 with a 2.22 goals against average and a .922 save percentage. Of course, all of those numbers came against the pre-Jason Williams Thrashers, so all bets are off.

Nov. 28 vs. Montreal: Theodore has an 8.01 GAA and .778 SV% against his old team, the Habs (in just one start). Time to get the monkey off your back, Jose.

Nov. 29 @ Columbus: Fedorov returns to the scene of the crime (i.e. the team from whom he more or less stole $15 million, give or take). Will they boo him in C'bus? Brent Johnson may very well get the start here, especially given his career 9-1-2/1.96/.919 career mark against the Jax.

Game of the Month: Easy - Kolzig's return to the Verizon Center. It should be emotional beforehand (provided that Barry Melrose upholds his end of the bargain and actually plays Olie) and entertaining, firewagon hockey once the puck drops. What do you think?